Humor and Laughter Article Review
After reading the articles Fun and the Immune System and Lighten Up please reflect on your thoughts and feelings.
The following questions were created to be thought provoking: ( you do not have to answer them all but they may aid you in your responses/reflections)
1) What were some of the AHA's that you encountered? (if any)
2) How can you utilize this information in your own personal life?
3) How can this information make you a more effective teacher/counselor/parent?
**Click on comments to read and leave your personal ideas**
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Fun and the Immune System was an interesting article about the levels of antibodiles being elevated because of fun. Whether it's true or not I say let's have fun anyway. I mean we exercise, we eat properly (well ok not all the time) but why ignore fun! Maybe I'll tell the wife I'm going to go out tonight and have some fun. Well maybe tomorrow...
Lighten Up A chuckle a day I believe should lead people to understand the importance of laughter to a healthy body. That the two go hand and hand. The study at the U. of Maryland sure makes you think hard about this relationship. Even the social aspect of laughing just makes sense. Going a step further you could even say Who would argue with the Bible. Also that watching funny videos for only 30 minutes a day can reduce heart attacks. This sure is a lot cheaper than the alternatives (medicine, doctor's visits,or even death). By Mike Warblow
The article titled, "Fun and the Immune System," really made me examine how many times a week do I plan "fun" into my life. I don't really take out my day planner on a weekly basis and say, "Hey, Thursday at 2:00 PM looks like a good slot!" I would also hope that since this study was done on males, that it does hold true for females like myself! The next time I see my two children getting a little under the weather, I will definitely try to plan some fun things in hopes that it will elevate their own immune system! It's worth a shot versus the alternative, medicine and antibiotics...healthcare is just too costly these days!
I also found the "Lighten Up" article to have numerous "AHA's" for me. One "AHA" was maybe choosing the Funniest Home Videos TV show to watch instead of the nightly news. (Not that I don't want to be informed about the world, but the news typically is daunting and depressing....against all what we are trying to achieve here in this course!) The next "AHA" came to me when I read about the ways in which I could simply make myself laugh in my own worklife. One suggestion that I am going to implement into my office at work is to place a funny photo of myself with my two children. I have my family photos at work, but they are typical photographer's poses of my children and my wedding. Not that those do not bring a smile to my face, but I need a silly photo framed in my office to make me laugh on those stressful workdays. I am laughing to myself now as I know which photo to bring...one that has both my children and I covered in mud that my husband took last summer! Thanks for the laughs as I remember that day!
Reading "Fun and the Immusine System" and "A Chuckle a Day" made me reflect upon how often I set aside time each week for fun, and how my stress level is connected to illness. I am pretty good at setting aside time for excercise, but wonder if I would feel even healthier if I had the same commitment when it comes to having fun. During busy times of my school year, it is not uncommon for me to fill my entire day with work, pushing myself until my eyes will no longer stay open. These are also the times when I can bet on getting sick. The articles reminded me that it is most important to take fun breaks during these busy times.
The same holds true in my classroom. When assessment times approach at the end of each quarter, I find myself stressed with the pressure of getting everything done in time for report cards. I am sure that my students can tell when I am stressed. I wonder if they would feel more at ease and perform better on the assessments if I planned fun activities leading up to these days.
I really enjoyed both of these articles. In the Fun and Immune System, one of my aha's was the statement that having fun is a good thing, but we feel guilty if we have too much of it. I realized that sometimes when my kids and I are having a good time, I will have us stop having fun and get onto something else. I should really just let us giggle and have fun even longer.
The Lighten Up a Chuckle a Day was a great article that had several aha's for me. One of the aha's was how heart-healthy people smooth over awkward situations with humor and laugh a lot. I love spending time with people that can laugh about things and can really belly laugh. It was great to read that people like that are usually more heart-healthy. Watching funny videos, what a great way to help with cardiac rehabilitation! Who wouldn't want to laugh everyday to help reduce the risk of another heart attack.
I know that I am going to try and schedule more fun in my life and laugh more. I know that I feel better after laughing and having fun. Both articles were great.
3) How can this information make you a more effective teacher/counselor/parent?
Sorry, missed this one in my original comment.
I think that both of these articles will encourage me, as a parent, to take the time to laugh and have more fun with my kids. I can read more joke books with them, tell more funny stories, pick funny shows to watch, etc. I think it would work the same way for me as a teacher. I would need to remember to share more funny things with the students and read funny comments or books to the students.
Fun and the Immune System reminded me again of the benefits of laughter. In college I did a group research and presentation project on the benefits of laughter. But, it is always good to be reminded and encouraged to use laughter as a staple in our lives and well as a cure. It is hard to feel sick and miserable when you are so tickled that laughter bubbles out. I suppose it takes a lot of the bad feelings out with it.
Lighten Up A Chuckle a Day helped me think of new ways to ensure my attitude was a happier one. I liked the suggestion to put pictures up around you that make you smile. I plan to put my dogs picture on my screen saver at work so that I can smile at his adorable, spoiled, little face.
Post a Comment